A customer’s motivation is the most important piece of information a salesperson can have. But not every customer is begging to share their motivation with you. Sometimes it takes a little digging, picking up a piece of their story at a time. Great salespeople need to know how to connect the dots…

It’s been about eight weeks since we’ve all been sheltering-in-place and over that time I think I’ve been on (let’s see… crunching numbers… carry the 3…) ONE BILLION PHONE AND VIDEO CALLS. And I never want to be on another conference call that doesn’t have a set agenda and purpose! And… NEITHER DOES YOUR CUSTOMER!

Virtual selling is here to stay folks! Right now we’re building skills and habits that we’re going to carry forward even after these restrictions are lifted. And when all is said and done, virtual selling will continue to be an important part of our sales repertoire. So let’s master it! And that starts by learning what NOT to do…

Today’s word is: CATASTROPHIZING. Now, if you try and write that word in a .doc you’ll get the red squiggly underline telling you it’s not a real word. But it absolutely IS a real phenomena. It’s what happens when your brain imagines the worst possible outcome of a scary situation. Like say…when you’re asking for the sale.

We are emotional creatures and we make emotional decisions. We think about future promise in terms of anticipated memories. Your buyer is no different. The burden of sustaining emotional engagement rests on the shoulders of the sales professional.

Salespeople are some of the most determined, resilient and hardworking people on the planet. We work hard, we focus hard. We pour all we have into our success, day and night. We don’t even stop thinking about what it’s going to take to plow forward and get more sales. It’s push, push, push all the way, all the time. But sometimes, we pour more than we have.

We are learning how to live (and to sell) in constrained environments. We are temporarily changing our lifestyles for the greater good. That said, there is redefinition in the trade winds of the sales world. If you make a living as a sales professional, then your world will not look the same on the other side of this abnormal reality.

Older salespeople like me know that there was once a time when the salesperson had ALL the information and the customer had none of it. That’s no longer the case. And that’s okay! It’s not your job to provide information. It’s your job to provide direction.

Just a few months ago, we’d never have imagined that we’d be collectively thrust into this world of virtual selling. Luckily, salespeople are some of the most positive, resourceful and resilient people in the world. To help, my team and I have identified and answered the top five questions that we’re hearing when it comes to virtually selling.

There’s no question about it, lack of face to face interaction is a new challenge for salespeople. And it can be a difficult one to master. How do we help customers find solutions to their problems when they can’t come and see that solution in person?